Having released the Gravel Grinder TLR vulcanised tubeless tyre last year, Challenge has today announced that it is finally making its ‘open tubular’ tyres available in a tubeless format, dubbed Handmade Tubeless Ready (HTLR).

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This is great news if you’ve been searching high and low for a tan-wall tyre that’s actually designed to be run tubeless.

Challenge is also releasing three new ‘tubeless tubular’ gravel tyres, which are designed to work better with sealant and plugs than a traditional tubular tyre. These are called ‘Handmade Tubeless Tubulars’ (HTLTU).

Handmade Tubeless Ready (HTLR) Tyres

Dubbed ‘Handmade Tubeless Ready’, Challenge aims to bring the characteristics of its open tubular tyres to the tubeless clincher.Challenge Tires

With this new range of tyres, Challenge aims to bring the comfort, handling and good looks of its standard clinchers to the new tubeless options.

Challenge is known for its ‘open tubular’ tyres which use a super supple casing more like that of a tubular, but in a clincher format.

Additions for the new tyres include an aramid bead protection strip, which aims to reduce rim chafing, and a coating (of unspecified material) on the inside of the tyre for puncture protection and to help reduce air loss.

While open tubulars have long been prized for their ride quality, comfort and low rolling resistance, they also tend to be criticised for their more delicate nature, compared to vulcanised tyres. Challenge clearly hopes that its Handmade TLR tyres offer the best of both worlds.

Some will also appreciate that these tyres retain their beautiful tan coloured sidewalls — something that other manufacturers seem largely unwilling to provide (mainly because a traditional tan-wall construction is harder to make airtight).

Road Handmade Tubeless Ready (HTLR)

The Challenge Strada HTLR tyre retains the tan side walls of its clincher equivalent.Challenge Tires

Strada: 25mm / 300tpi / 255g

Paris Roubaix: 27mm / 300tpi / 280g

Strada Bianca: 30mm / 260tpi / 305g

Price: €69.90 / $79.90

Gravel Handmade Tubeless Ready (HTLR)

The Challenge Gravel Grinder HTLR is a handmade tubeless-ready, 260tpi tyre, available in either 33mm or 36mm sizes.Challenge Tires

Strada Bianca: 36mm / 260tpi / 385g

Almanzo: 33mm / 260tpi / 390g

Gravel Grinder: 33mm and 36mm / 260tpi / 405g (33mm) and 425g (36mm)

Price: €69.90 / $79.90

Handmade Tubeless Tubular (HTLTU) Tyres

Designed specifically for gravel racing, the Handmade Tubeless Tubular (HTLTU) use a latex liner that’s fused to the tyre casing to replace the traditional inner tube.

Challenge says that this tubeless-style construction means the HTLTU tyres work much better with tubeless sealant and allows for the use of a tubeless tyre plug, in the event of a puncture too large for sealant alone to fix.

The HTLTU tyres represent one of the few innovations in tubular tyre technology that we’ve seen in a long time. While they’re still popular in the professional peloton and cyclocross, it seems like they’re increasingly becoming an obsolete technology for everyone else, as tyre development focuses largely on clincher and tubeless technology.

Gravel Handmade Tubeless Tubular (HTLTU)

Challenge has also announced a range of new tubeless ready and ‘tubeless tubular’ gravel tyres.Challenge Tires